


onwards, upwards

by sinkingsidewalks



Category: Figure Skating RPF
Genre: F/M, Fluff, really so much fluff, there is no plot here, throwback week
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-28
Updated: 2019-05-28
Packaged: 2020-03-20 16:15:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18996112
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sinkingsidewalks/pseuds/sinkingsidewalks
Summary: “Mom,” Vera asks as Tessa closes the chapter of the novel they read together nightly – a series about young girl dragon slayer that’s V’s favourite. “Why haven’t you and Scott gotten married?"





	onwards, upwards

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [to long-ago rooms, where memories lie](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15627792) by [sinkingsidewalks](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sinkingsidewalks/pseuds/sinkingsidewalks). 



> Here we are, exactly a year after I posted the first part of this story, here's the fluffy ending so many of you wanted. Thanks to Cheyenne and Lori for helping me get my shit together and actually write this, and all the ladies in the chat for being lovely and supportive as always.  
> Happy 22 to me, may it be better than the shithole that was 21.

_present_

“Mom,” Vera asks as Tessa closes the chapter of the novel they read together nightly – a series about young girl dragon slayer that’s V’s favourite. Vera, now eight years old, is starting to insist that she’s too old to be read to, but Tessa likes the nightly check in with her daughter too much to quite be ready to give it up herself. “Why haven’t you and Scott gotten married?”

It’s not a surprising question, Vera’s best friend’s dad just got remarried and little Aubrey, a chatterbox by nature, had been very excited about the wedding planning. 

“Well,” Tessa says to stall for time because she doesn’t really have an answer. “You know we were planning on getting married a long time ago, before I met your dad and Scott met Amelia and Etta’s mom.”

Vera nods, she’s heard this story – albeit a slightly sanitized version – before, all the kids have; they’ve made no secret of their past. 

“I guess we haven’t really found a reason to. And maybe being engaged again would be too much like walking into the past when we want to move forward. What do you think?”

Vera shrugs, her brow furrowed in thought. “I guess that makes sense. Having a party would be fun though.”

Tessa chuckles, of course that’s what her daughter would take away from a wedding. “It would be.”

Then there’s a knock on the door and Vera calls for Scott to come in. He weaves around the stacks of boxes and settles down on the edge of the bed beside Tessa. 

“All ready for bed?” Scott asks, tucking the blankets in like he does every night as Vera nods. “And you, Rex?” Scott asks the stuffed T-Rex tucked under Vera’s arm. She makes his little head nod. 

He kisses the top of her head, then the T-Rex, just like he does every night. 

“We’ve got a big day tomorrow,” Tessa says, smoothing out Vera’s hair and she nestles down into the blankets. 

“Only one more sleep ‘till the new house.” Vera says, they’ve been counting down for weeks and Tessa is just relieved she’s still excited about the move. 

“That’s right, so try to get a good one.”

“Night mama, night Scott.”

“Goodnight little pea, sleep well.” She flicks off the lamp and they leave her for the night with the glow of the nightlight and the hall light spilling through a crack in the door. 

Tessa leans on the hallway wall, bare of the painting that usually hangs there. “One down,” she says with a sigh. The movers are coming at eight the next morning and there’s still packing to do.

“I’ll go check where the twins are at with their stuff, then meet you in the kitchen?”

Tessa nods, and listens to him tap on their door calling, “Kiddos?” before she heads downstairs. 

 

_past_

Scott hefts a duffle bag over each shoulder and kicks the door of his SUV shut in the driveway while Tessa holds the front door open for him. The kids are all in the TV room, having raced into the house ahead, Amelia on the floor playing Lego with Vera and Etta curled up in the corner of the couch, eyes glued to the TV. 

“Do you want to go see your new room?” Scott asks. Amelia pops to her feet but Etta stays sitting.  
Amelia holds out her hand when Etta still doesn’t move. “Come on,” she says and Etta sighs but allows her sister to pull her off the couch. Vera grabs Amelia’s other hand and pulls them up the stairs. 

Last week, after the movers delivered all of Scott’s furniture, they set up Tessa’s guest room to imitate the twin’s room at Scott’s apartment, but this is the first weekend he’s had them staying over. 

They’ve been in Tessa’s house dozens of times before, but this is the first time since Scott moved in. So she’s not just their dad’s friend anymore, she’s their dad’s friend. And while Vera isn’t old enough to understand that, Etta and Amelia definitely are. 

She feels almost like she’s eighteen again, coming back to the rink after a summer off, the crush she’d harbored for years finally realized. It had felt like every time he kissed her a new notch would appear on her for all to see, that Marina could smell it on her skin that they’d had sex. 

Scott squeezes her hand, like he knows what she’s thinking. He probably does, she wouldn’t bet against him feeling the same way. 

“They’ll be fine,” Tessa says, giving his hand a squeeze back. 

“I know,” Scott sighs. “They love you.”

 

_present_

“Do you want to get married?” Scott asks, later, towel drying his hair as she washes her face in the bathroom sink. 

Through the mirror, Tessa raises an eyebrow at him and his eavesdropping tendencies. He shrugs, unabashed. 

“Much less suave than your last proposal, kiddo.” She rubs lotion into her skin, he steps up behind her, wrapping his arms loosely around her waist. The heat from the shower bleeding through her thin t-shirt from his skin to hers. He props his chin on her shoulder. 

“That’s not an answer to the question, kiddo.”

She shrugs, much like Vera did earlier. It’s not like she hasn’t thought about it before, just that she’s never come to any conclusions. She still has the ring he gave to her almost twenty years ago, tucked away in her jewelry box, but she’s felt no compulsion to put it back on.

“I’m happy as we are. Aren’t you?”

“Of course.” He squeezes her waist, kisses the side of her head then disentangles. “I don’t need anything but you.” He grabs his toothbrush from the toiletries bag it was packed into. “We should have a housewarming party once we’re moved. Give little Virtch her event.”

“Yeah, I bet she’d love that. And it would help Etta and Mells feel at home before they go visit Julie.”

Scott’s ex-wife is in Vancouver and will be for at least the next school year while she tries to talk her aging mother into moving into a homecare facility. The twins will be staying with Tessa and Scott in London, since it seemed cruel to make them start at a new high school two years in a row. 

Scott nods, talking around his toothbrush as he says, “Let them have friends over and get all the families involved.”

“Try to make the readjusting fun,” Tessa agrees. 

Scott spits toothpaste in the sink. “You coming to bed?”

Tessa nods. “I’m just going to check the kids one more time.”

 

_past_

“Dad,” Etta whisper shouts into the room, pulling Tessa awake. “Dad?”

She blinks against the darkness and sees a shadow of a figure in the bedroom doorway. 

“Etta?” Tessa asks and the figure freezes. She should have known this would happen. The twins have never been easy sleepers, let alone their first night in a new place. Bedtime had gone so smoothly it lulled them into a false sense of security. 

Etta shifts from foot to foot. “Um, is my dad awake?”

“You can come in, Etta.” Tessa says, shaking Scott’s shoulder. He mumbles, and she shakes him a little bit harder. “Wake up, Scott.”

Etta walks around to Scott’s side and perches on the edge of the bed. “Dad?”

That wakes him up. “What’s wrong honey?”

“I can’t sleep.”

Scott rubs a hand over his eyes, clearing the sleep away. “I’m sorry. Do you want to have a cup of tea before you try again?”

She twists the hem of her pajama shirt in her hands. “Do you have the sleepy one?”

“Yeah, yeah we’ve got the sleepy one.” He gets to his feet and leads Etta out of the room. Tessa hears him talking quietly as they head down the stairs. “You know Tessa is the one who first gave me the that tea?”

After a moment, Tessa climbs out of bed, wrapping her arms around herself against the nighttime chill. She’s awake anyway, she may as well check in on her daughter. She goes across the hall, pushing Vera’s door open gently to avoid the creak of the old hinge. In the glow of the nightlight, she can see her daughter curled up in a ball under the blankets, fast asleep with her stuffed dinosaur under her arm. She creeps into the room, avoiding the scattering of toys to straighten out the quilt. Vera sighs in her sleep, but doesn’t wake. 

Then, instead of going back to bed as she usually would, she walks down the hall and pokes her head into the twin’s room. Etta’s bed is still empty, Tessa can hear Scott puttering around the kitchen downstairs still, but Amelia is sprawled out across the top bunk, her one arm hanging off the side of the bed. She snores, just a little, like Scott used to when they were kids. 

Content, Tessa returns to her bedroom and the warmth of the covers. She listens to the footsteps on the stairs and Scott’s quiet voice as he takes his daughter back to bed. 

 

_present_

Morning dawns with chaos, like she knew it would, despite her many preparations. The movers are early, Etta can’t find shoes to wear, Vera won’t let strangers touch her favourite stuffed animals, and Amelia, usually the most consistent of the three, starts the morning crying on the bathroom floor. 

“I want my mom,” she sniffles, back against the countertop while Tessa sits on the edge of the tub. Scott is off trying to coordinate the movers.

“I know, sweetie. Your dad and I are a poor substitution right now but it’ll only be a couple of hours before it’s late enough to call her. We’ve just got to get over to the new house, then you can talk to her and show her around your new room.”

“I know.” She wipes at her eyes with her shirtsleeve and hiccups softly. 

“MELLY,” Vera comes yelling up the stairs. She stops at the bathroom door, panting. “Can you please help me carry my boxes to the car?”

“Yeah,” Amelia says and pushes to her feet. “Give me a minute okay?”

“Okay.” Vera trots off again.

Amelia wipes at her face and sighs. Tessa’s heart aches. “Do you want a hug?”

“Yeah,” she says, her face crumpling and new tears blooming as she falls into Tessa’s arms. 

Tessa strokes a hand over her hair gently. “We’re all going through a big change right now. It’s okay to be upset about it. It’s okay to be having a hard time. Okay?” Tessa feels her nod against her shoulder and only lets go when Amelia starts to pull away. 

“I’ll go help Vera,” Amelia says with a deep breath that seems easier now. 

Tessa finds Scott at the bottom of the stairs. The living and dining rooms are mostly empty, and the movers are making fast progress with the upstairs bedrooms. 

“Crisis averted?”

She nods, “She’s going to call Julie when we get to the house.”

“Okay, thanks T.”

Tessa looks around her empty house, the bare shell of the home she made for herself, then her daughter, then Scott’s family too, suddenly affronted with the realization that soon they’ll be leaving it behind. Scott takes her hand, squeezing her fingers. 

“Okay?”

“Yeah,” she sighs, suddenly feeling tears she thought were miles away. “I’m just going to miss this place.” 

This home is the one she’s always had to come back to. No matter what else was happening in her life, whatever big changes there were, this house was consistently her home. 

“We still don’t have to sell it. We can hang onto it for a little while longer.”

She shakes her head. “No, we can’t.” Not if they’re going to buy the rink outside London that Scott has been leasing for the last decade. Her half of the money has to come from somewhere, and it’s can’t be Vera’s college fund or her own retirement. She doesn’t have inheritance to fall back on like he does, at least not yet. 

“It’s okay though,” She tells him with a squeeze of his hand. “We’re moving forward.”

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is part of throwback week! Which challenges writers to return to one of their previous stories and post them in the last week of May, feel free to join in!


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